general problems of the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe

I was driving on March 20, 2026 at about 12:00 pm when I suddenly noticed smoke, a strong gasoline smell, an oil smell, and a burning odor coming from the vehicle. I pulled over immediately because I believed the vehicle was unsafe and at risk of fire. The vehicle had to be towed. An independent repair shop later found a fuel leak at the high-pressure fuel line / fuel pump area, a loose ground wire on the right-hand side of the engine, a valve cover gasket leak, and engine timing chain noise. I was informed that gasoline had sprayed throughout the engine bay. This created an immediate fire hazard even though no actual fire occurred. This problem was especially concerning because the vehicle had been inspected and serviced by an authorized Hyundai dealer in December 2025, less than about 3,000 miles earlier. The loose engine ground wire and fuel leak raise serious concerns about vehicle safety and the adequacy of the prior inspection. I contacted Hyundai the same day and reported this as a fire-risk safety issue, but I did not receive timely assistance. Because immediate dealer service was not available, I had to authorize emergency repairs at a local shop for safety reasons. No warning lights were noted before the incident. The failure was confirmed by the repair shop.

While traveling at approximately 80 mph on the highway, my vehicle suddenly lost all response to the accelerator pedal. Despite continued pressure on the gas, the vehicle rapidly decelerated to approximately 40 mph on its own. There were no warning lights, unusual noises, or physical indicators of a problem before, during, or after the event. I was able to safely navigate the vehicle off the highway. The vehicle appeared to operate normally afterward. The following day, I brought the vehicle to a mechanic who was unable to replicate the issue and found no stored fault codes. No repairs were made. Given the known concerns surrounding the theta ii engine in this model year, I am submitting this incident for documentation purposes and to contribute to any ongoing or future investigation into sudden acceleration loss in 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe vehicles.

Circuit board inside the fuse box stopped working and there was no speed indicator, no cruise control, no odometer registering while driving. Also the mechanical fuel pump started leaking fuel at 148,000 miles and now at 156,000 miles it is burning through oil and no oil light came on and the engine went into limp mode and is also now going through coolant too.

Unknown car was purchased in September started having engine problem in December.

The engine on our 2013 Santa Fe limited has seized. We have maintained this vehicle with regular oil changes, breaks, tires, and anything else our trusted mechanic has recommended. While driving, the car slowed down considerably and was not accelerating. No dashboard lights appeared. This was during evening rush hour and became very dangerous. I pulled over to the shoulder and called for help. Once the tow arrived, we started the car and the check engine light came on. I checked the oil, it looked good. Tow truck driver took it to the dealership. Dealership said the car had no oil and that the engine has seized. I saw that there was oil before the driver took the car. So, that's not possible. The dealership said they added oil and that we would need a new engine. After discussing with the dealership my very expensive option, I have been researching the recalls and problems others have been having with the exact same thing happening. If there was no oil, why wasn't the oil light coming on? why am I not due for an oil change for 1000+ mile? putting my family at risk in a well maintained car that should last 75k-100k more miles is a huge problem. I will continue to fight this until myself and others receive the proper care from Hyundai.

I was driving the vehicle on the left lane of the freeway and the acceleration suddenly gave out. The car began to slow even when I pushed on the gas. Heat gage was fine and no lights went on. I quickly got over 4 lanes of traffic to the next exit and was able to pull over to the side of the road. White smoke began to billow out of the hood on the offramp and all the emergency light indicators came on at once. I turned the car off and the smoke turned black. I popped the hood and flames lept out from under the hood. I jump out of the car and ran, leaving everything behind. I got safety away from the car and called 911. All of this happened within 2 minutes of losing acceleration. I typically have my two children in carseats in the car for school drop off and, thank god, they weren't with me. The fire overtook the front quickly and spread to the main cabin. By the time the fire department arrived (appx. 5-7 min) the car was completely engulfed. Nothing was salvaged. There is a fire report with the fire department. The police were not called. The car had gone through a full inspection and oil change one month prior and had no warning signs or issues. I lost a number of things in the car, including my purse, work items, kid's items, carseats, etc. Just after the incident, I developed a cough and severe headache that lasted two days. I also twisted my knee while running away, exacerbating an old injury. I am also dealing with acute mental health symptoms and am seeing a psychologist. I have not yet returned to work due to brain fog and exhaustion.

My car engine compartment fire while parked in front of my condo.

Our family 2013 Santa Fe was leaking fuel in June 2023. Hyundai of chantilly failed to check on technical service bulletins (tsbs) that were related to our 2013 Santa Fe. Tsbs are circulated to “general manager, service manager, parts manager, warranty manager, service advisors, technicians, body shop manager, fleet repair”. Per recall 180: Hyundai is conducting a safety recall in the united states to confirm the high pressure fuel pipe was properly connected by Hyundai dealers to the fuel pump outlet during prior engine replacement. What is the safety recall? certain model year 2011-2018 Hyundai sonata, model year 2013-2018 Hyundai Santa Fe sport, and model year 2014-2015 and 2018 tucson vehicles had engines replaced. In some cases, during engine replacements, the high pressure fuel pipe may have been damaged, misaligned, or improperly torqued during the engine replacement procedure, allowing fuel to leak. What will Hyundai do? Hyundai dealers will inspect the connections of the high pressure fuel pipe to the fuel pump outlet for fuel leaking. If leaking fuel is detected, the fuel pipe will be replaced and properly installed with a new one. This procedure will be performed at no charge. My daughter mentioned to Hyundai service advisor, that the engine had been replaced under the recall last spring 2023. Why didn’t the service advisor or service technician check the TSB? that should have been the first thing to do, especially when fuel lines don’t go bad that quickly. The level of incompetence at Hyundai of chantilly service department is staggering. I paid over $1300 at Hyundai of chantilly, most of which is covered by a recall. Now, I’m in the process of requesting reimbursement from Hyundai motor America, which could take 120 days to process/receive. Why should customers have to do research to find out whether their vehicle was impacted by a recall? Hyundai should be fined civil penalties for failures in fixing recall issues.

The vehicle started to stall and smoke started to come from the engine compartment. People started yelling the vehicle was fire. Vehicle stopped in the road and burst into flames. Fire department and police were called to scene. Vehicle was a total loss.

We took this vehicle over for a relative who originally owned it. We had no idea about all the engine problems we had some trouble with accelerating and a knocking sound on our engine. We called in to get it checked out. We were told there was a recall to install a chip to monitor these exact symptoms. We went in and got the chip. The engine finally quit and we were stuck in the middle if the road while driving a child to school. First the dealer said there was nothing wrong with the car accept, “this can happen if the oil is changed anywhere but the dealer. ” so, that’s obviously dishonest and made everything after, suspect. It’s the type of filter you use that matters and it’s not going to cause the problems we described. Then we told them all the problems we had that were identical to the recalls. Soon after saying that they said “we have more to talk about” and told us this was “piston scoring” not covered by the extended warranty. Now they said even though they put the recall chip in for these exact problems. This was not related to those problems. This was “scoring on the pistons. ” so, now I see piston problems are being addressed in many Hyundai models but not ours. This is ridiculous to have a vehicle that you can’t count on and then a dealer that is dishonest even for only $50 oil change. The exact same issues happened to us as listed in the recall. If it didn’t pass a bearing test we would have gotten a new engine. But Hyundai did the test after lying to us about the car’s oil change and being fine. So how can we trust anything they say?.

The problem related to the class action for the theta ii gsd engine happened to my engine (rod bearing failure). This is causing the engine to knock. Will have to replace the entire engine with less than 100k on the vehicle. Ran the vehicle normally and then parked it. Once I got back in the vehicle, I tried to start it and it would not start. I brought it to the dealer, and they came back and said there is a rod bearing failure causing the engine to knock.

We pulled off the highway to get gas and noticed smoke coming from the hood. We immediately parked at the gas station and my husband, our dog and I got out of the car and within minutes the entire front of the car was in flames. Several passersby stopped and sprayed the fire with their fire extinguishers. We called 911 and the fire department quickly arrived and put out the fire, but the entire front of the car was destroyed. The front of the car melted along with the windshield from the intense heat. The police inspector came and inspected the car and took photos. The car was then towed and our insurance company took possession of the car. There were no warning lights or messages prior to the failure. The only thing we noticed was a slight hesitation in power as we climbed a hill several times in the half hour preceding the failure. My husband, my dog and I would have been in mortal danger from the fire if we had not stopped immediately and gotten out of the car. The safety of other people nearby had also been at risk if the fire department had not arrived so quickly to put out the fire as the smoke began as we were entering the gas station and parked about 50 feet from the gas pumps to escape the vehicle. We have no idea what caused the fire. The engine had been replaced by Hyundai due to a defect that had caused it to fail about 2 years prior to the current failure.

First we heard what we thought was making a belt loose driving down the road in our local area of denver, then suddenly acceleration was not happening. Giving it gas and nothing. Check engine light came on. Made it home, thank goodness as acceleration was intermittent( and nothing over 25mph) but immediately had it towed to mechanic. Mechanic fixed one sensor and more problems arose. He felt it should be a warranty item but surprisingly its not. Now he thinks the resolve will be in the form of replacing the engine as he's run every other diagnostic test he could.

The motor stated to act up. It was driving regular then all at once the motor started to make a grining noise then the car slowed down to 20 mpa. I got scared then came home it was smoking too. I put my foot to the floor and nothing happened still going 20 mpa.

On 11/02/2020 my Hyundai santafe sport broke down. I was told by the mechanic at universal Hyundai that the 4th cylinder was missfiring and that gasoline was spraying internally. I have always taken care of my car and have changed oil regularly and have never had a single issue with the car. After some investigation I gound that Hyundai had two recalls ( 164 and 194) I was told by the rep at universal Hyundai that my car would need a new engine and that it would be covered under the recall. However Hyundai ended up going back on their word and said my egine would not be covered under the recall and they wouldn't pay for anything.

Driving on interstate up a incline in heavy traffic driving 70 mph vehicle lost all acceleration.

The car went of fire on highway.

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe sport turbo. Past/present safety-sensitive defects, noted over the past several years: 1. One confirmed open recall [campaign #/NHTSA recall #—recall 251 / 23v651000] (to be scheduled ASAP). 2. Rpm/propulsion limp-mode conditions: vehicle periodically loses rpm readings on dash and goes into the propulsion sputtering/restricted-speed limp-mode hesitation condition. This condition may occasionally normalize by stopping, turning off engine and restarting. This intermittent rpm/propulsion condition sometimes occurs, signified by a temporary sputtering/bucking while driving vehicle. ??check stored codes ASAP. . . To do. 3. Several times the car failed to accelerate predictably. For example, as when trying to accelerate up to highway speed from the on-ramp, leading to a fear of a near-miss, stalling and getting rear-ended. On such occasions, since attention is directed outside of the vehicle for safety, the state of the rpm reading on the dash has not been noted. ??check stored codes ASAP. . . To do.

The contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that after the vehicle was repaired per an unknown recall, it began leaking fuel and was unable to be driven. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to shaker's family Hyundai (674 straits turnpike, watertown, CT 06795) to be repaired again. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

On September 20th 2018 after having the car a week, the car made a noise would not start all the dashboard lights were blinking on and off then never came on again. The car was taken to the dealer for them to say it was a battery, which they never gave a service receipt for no matter how many times I asked. Then again on August 7 2019 my engine light came on and car stop while driving on the expressway with my kids in the car. Thankfully we were able to get off the expressway which was a very scary situation. After about 30 min that did restart but would not accelerate of 60 mph. As we coasted the remainder of our trip. Then again on October 7 the light came on again after receiving an oil change and tune up. This time smoking and stalling and never coming back on again. The brake would be pressed when the push to start betton never went to the on position.

Tl-the contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated that their vehicle leaked fuel. The contact also stated that the the fuel puddles are visible in their driveway. The contact also smelled an abnormal smell of fuel outside and inside of the vehicle. The bottom of rear drivers side was wet too. The vehicle was driven to number one cochran Hyundai 4520 william penn hwy, monroeville, PA 15146 (877) 211-5526 where the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact didn't want to pay the diagnoses fee. The mechanic stated that they would not repair the vehicle because the vehicle had a salvaged title. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. They provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 95,080. Jw.

While driving down the highway, the vehicle started to loose power, started having a vibration and could see smoke in the rear view mirror. I pulled over and the engine had caught fire. Within minutes, the whole vehicle burst into flames.

Tl the contact owns a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. The contact stated they would hear a knocking coming from the engine of the vehicle and the check 20v1442th smoke beng seen due to a fuel injector failure. The contact stated that excessive smoke would come out from the exhaust of the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the alternator and fuel injector failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failures continued. The contact took the vehicle to the dealership (huntington beach Hyundai address: 16751 beach blvd, huntington beach, CA 92647 phone: (714) 594-5604) who diagnosed the vehicle with the diagnostic code failure: p0299, which, states that the vehicle's under boost turbocharger had failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle had not ben repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and opened a case regarding the matter. The approximate failure mileage was 131,000.

Obd fuel system sensor has failed NJ inspection 4 times since March 2019.

My 2. 0t engine which I have maintained religiously per the factory severe service schedule with synthetic oil failed without warning driving at night on the highway. This almost resulted in a collision and was able to eventually pull to the side of the road with what little momentum I had. This was a dangerous situation and I feel should be investigated.

Since may I have been dealing up to August my car me et s the requirements for lemon l aw n I filed in may my car not safe to drive burns 2 qts of oil a week since they did recall between third parties in attorney general n service manager my car is inhumane for nearly two months of them consumer advocate falsifying documents n not getting this car serviced when the engine has a recall on the 2013 and I've recorded conversations n made copies when action should be in a 30 day window since August 8th please help!!!.

After accelerating from a stop light, turning left onto a two lane 35mph road, the car seemed to downshift and would not respond to the accelerator. It continued to move forward at no more than 10-15mph jerking and lunging up a hill, causing a hazard for approaching cars. The awd light came on along with another light pertaining to the drivetrain/axle. We were able to continue a few hundred yards until a safe spot to pull over was found. The roadside assist tech suspected there may be water in the fuel system, however when loading the car onto the truck, noticed the jerking motion and insisted it should be brought in for inspection. In our first conversation with the mechanic he mentioned recalls on the vehicle. We said that we had just purchased the car after lease, 2 months prior, and during that process we asked about recalls and were told there were none.

When driving on the freeway, vehicle lost power and shut off, smelled and saw smoke coming from the vents. Pulled to side of road and opened hood to check engine and flames shot out, closed hood and truckers ran over with fire extinguishers and called fire department. Within 5 minutes vehicle was totally engulfed and fire department had arrived and could only prevent flames from spreading to surrounding environment. Vehicle was totally consumed by this catastrophic fire. Called Hyundai corporate offices in California to report it as the vehicle is under warranty and was asked 'what do you want us to do?'. Received the impression that they were not going to do anything about this.

The vehicle was stopped with my foot on brake. The engine began to race for several seconds and then returned to normal. It seemed as if the transmission was in neutral when this happened as there was no laboring of the engine. The car was in drive.

The vehicle has never displayed correct mpg. The digital read out that "tells" you your average mileage is always 2 or 3 miles off the actual mpg. I reset all the settings every fuel up. It 'tells" me I'm averaging 21 mpg, but when I check it multiple times it's actually 18mpg. The vehicle is supposed to ge 21/29 and I now have 15,000 miles on the car and I've never gotten more than 19 in town or about 27 on the road and those are few and far between. Yet, the gage is alway inaccurate by 2 to 3 mpg. I feel that is very deceiving. If you didn't check it yourself, you would think it's getting the gas mileage it's supposed to, but the readouts are wrong. I don't know if it's deliberate or a callibration issue. I took it to the dealer, but they claim everything is fine. If I'm supposed to file this complaint with another agency, please let me know.

Vehichal stalls in traffic. No warning signs.

Car did not respond to throttle input for as long as 5 or 6 seconds this happening several times early on. The car now has 2300 miles and the symptoms have evolved to the car starting to move to approximately 5 miles per hour then falling on its face for 2 to 3 seconds before resuming speed almost causing a rear collision. The car has been back to the dealer twice one time for five days with the dealer unable to replicate the problem. I am very concerned that this issue could possibly cause a rear collision or an accident pulling into traffic.

Gas gauge does not read correctly and causes trip calculation and driving range to be displayed incorrectly. This could cause car to unexpectedly run out of fuel and cause an accident. ## VIN failed ##.